Most drivers know texting and driving is dangerous, still do it anyway

In a not too surprising, but still really disturbing announcement, cellcontrol today unveiled the results of a new study that indicates most people are aware of the dangers and risks involved with distracting habits like texting and driving yet still continue to practice unsafe texting. It seems that all the awareness campaigns aimed at educating the public about distracted driving has done little to convince people to change their own habits.

“Distracted Driving” is supposed to be 23 times more dangerous than Driving While Intoxicated. The survey found that 73 of the 100 people they polled were aware that texting and driving was just as dangerous as drinking and driving, while 72% indicated that the passing of laws banning texting and driving did nothing to change their mobile phone habits when driving. Heck, a previous survey even showed that most Americans support a nationwide ban on texting and driving (teens excepted, naturally). But, despite all that awareness, 88% admitted to sending a text message, email, surfing the web, or talking on the phone while behind the wheel in the past year. That revelation might not be too surprising – people are generally slow to change their behaviors, and usually only when it’s convenient to them. But, it’s still a disturbing statistic.

The survey does have a silver lining, though. All but 8% of participants indicated that they would “maybe” or definitely consider some sort of distracted driving safety feature as an important feature for future cellphone purchases. Also interesting was the fact that 76% of drivers would use a distracted driving restriction technology if it reduced their auto insurance premiums. That sets us up for future cellphones that automatically lock out distracting features when it detects that it’s in a car. Scary or comforting?

Keep in mind, this study was only conducted on 100 participants, so it’s not a perfect representation of the nation as a whole. Still, the results are lopsided enough to worry about.

Are you willing to use anti-distracted driving technologies on your handset if you could get a break from your insurance company? What if your carrier gave you a break for buying one of these distraction-proof mobile phones? Let us know in the comments below!